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Laphroaig Cairdeas Quarter Cask sweet, smoky and irresistible

Laphroaig Distillery Manager John Campbell makes a habit each year of crafting a new version of Cairdeas — which means “friendship” in Gaelic — to honor the Friends of Laphroaig community.

Campbell’s is a wonderful habit.

His latest offering, Laphroaig Cairdeas Quarter Cask, features different ages of Laphroaigmatured for more than five years in first-fill bourbon casks, a news release says. It’s then laid to rest for a second time in smaller quarter casks. After six months of maturation, the liquid from 177 of the casks are bottled at 114-proof cask strength.

One not need be a fan of Scotch to savor this sweet, smoky and creamy whisky treat.

A taste brings hints of vanilla honey mingling in a warm cup of lightly sweetened coffee. Then comes the unmistakable smoke and freshly burned wood, which, though pronounced, is somehow fruity and ultimately irresistible.

It goes for about $80 a bottle, which is reasonable for such a drinkable Scotch.

Islay’s Laphroaig is one of only a few distilleries that still uses traditional malting floors and dries and infuses its own malt with the thick blue smoke from old peat-fired kilns, the company says.

The Cairdeas isn’t as funky as it’s Lore offerings yet it should more than satisfy committed Scotch drinkers and, well, bourbon drinkers, too.